Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Dec 15, 2023 3/4

Despite its grand metaphor about little people with big dreams often having to give them up for a painful dose of The Real World, the film works better as a neat little indie comedy chock-full of goofiness.

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David Lamble Bay Area Reporter May 21, 2020

Wildly funny at times, the film aims to break your heart and despite pushing its own special powers to their limits I think it succeeds.

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David Harris Spectrum Culture Oct 2, 2019 1.5/5

It seems that Haberman and Passmore's film is just as unsure of itself as Les: is Special a comedy, a political statement, an action film or a tragedy?

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Kaleem Aftab The List Nov 3, 2018 3/5

Special is flawed, mainly because the supporting cast are not given sufficient screen time to stoke interest, yet it's undoubtedly the most intriguing dissection on superhero mythology since M Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable.

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Christian Toto What Would Toto Watch? Mar 31, 2009 2/4

Special offers a unique spin on the superhero template but rarely soars beyond its sly premise.

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Cole Abaius Film School Rejects Feb 11, 2009 B

The quiet-yet-hip tone of the film reminded me a lot of Roger Dodger, another indie film that let's its script and acting do the talking.

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S. Jhoanna Robledo Common Sense Media Jan 27, 2009 2/5

Eccentric, depressing thriller won't grab teens' attention.

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Michael Dequina TheMovieReport.com Jan 3, 2009 3/5

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Todd Gilchrist IGN Nov 26, 2008 3/5

Special works as an honest portrait of little people with big dreams even if it remains itself a little movie without a big impact.

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Ben Lyons At the Movies Nov 24, 2008

I just thought it was a cool indie film with a great leading performance from an actor we don't usually get to see in a lead.

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Ben Mankiewicz At the Movies Nov 24, 2008

The premise is intriguing, and the film is occasionally amusing, but it feels stuck between a completely satirical farce and an aching drama.

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David Noh Film Journal International Nov 21, 2008

The sight of him, bloodied but eternally unbowed, in his ridiculous, homemade superhero costume may indeed be totally iconic for true pulp believers.

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Keith Uhlich House Next Door Nov 21, 2008

Take[s] a page from the cartoonist Bill Watterson, who noted of the tiger protagonist in his great Calvin & Hobbes, 'The nature of [the character's] reality doesn't interest me, and each story goes out of its way to avoid resolving the issue.'

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Lou Lumenick New York Post Nov 21, 2008 1.5/4

Rappaport does a yeoman's job in this tonally confused oddity.

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Elizabeth Weitzman New York Daily News Nov 21, 2008 4/5

It may not be perfect, but this under-the-radar indie from Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore is smart enough to leave you glad you found it.

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Nathan Lee New York Times Nov 21, 2008 2.5/5

Ultimately it adds little to our understanding of the curious return of the superhero as our paradigmatic pop archetype.

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Amy Nicholson I.E. Weekly Nov 21, 2008 A-

Shot for pennies -- a cash limitation that benefits the production's creativity and credibility -- this haunting film keeps shifting the ground under our feet

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Jenna Busch UGO Nov 21, 2008 8/10

A beautiful metaphor for the desperate need to be important in a world where we rarely make personal connections any more, Special deserves to be seen.

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Geoff Berkshire Metromix.com Nov 21, 2008 2/5

What begins as a mildly amusing indie lark descends into a depressingly unappealing exercise in mico-budget filmmaking.

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Scott Tobias AV Club Nov 20, 2008 B

Its ambitions are limited -- though at 81 minutes, wisely proportioned -- but its heart is in the right place.

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